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Ma is worth $21.8 billion, a figure that includes his 7.3% stake in Alibaba and a nearly 50% stake in Alipay, a payment processing service.
To learn more about what Alibaba does, check out these infographics.
In May, Alibaba filed for an IPO in the United States. When that happens, Ma's net worth will undoubtedly skyrocket.
Yahoo, an early investor in Alibaba, has realized the company is growing so quickly that they're holding onto more of their shares to sell them in the future when they will be more valuable.
Alibaba will IPO on the New York Stock Exchange next month. Bloomberg reports that their post-IPO valuation could approach $200 billion.
Given that, Jack Ma could be China's richest person for quite some time.